Prevalence of "orphan" parvovirus infections in mice and rats.

ABSTRACT

"Orphan" parvovirus (OPV) infection in laboratory mice and rats was serologically surveyed for 465 mouse sera and 271 rat sera collected from 1986 to 1987 and from 1993 to 1996 in Japan. The results suggest that parvovirus infection is rare in mice but common in rats (positive rate 13-22%) and that most putative viruses were OPVs. OPV is therefore considered to already have been harbored for at least ten years in Japan.